‘I’d love to teach Bradley Cooper how to drive!’

What we want to be when we grow up often changes as we make the transition from teenager to adult. The dreams of becoming an ‘astronaut’, ‘rock star’ or ‘jet pilot’ are usually long gone, replaced with something else we discover along the way. But not for 24-year-old Demi Gamba, who knew from an early age that she wanted to be a driving instructor.

“I’ve got qualifications in fashion design and furniture design, but I wanted to be a driving instructor,” she laughs. “Since the age of 17, I was a really good driver. I passed my theory with 50 out of 50 and I passed my practical test first time – and, apparently, women are supposed to be the worst drivers!”

After starting out in retail (“I worked in a shop before, on minimum wage, 36 hours a week, and hardly paying my bills at the end of it”), Demi decided it was time to take her career into her own hands. “I trained with RED after seeing the adverts on telly. They offer you your course fees back the longer you stay with them.”

So what’s the best bit about being a driving instructor? “I like meeting new people”, she says, matter-of-factly. “You learn things about other people. I’m interested in seeing how people live, while I’m teaching them how to drive. In my old job I felt like a goldfish; I went to work, dealt with customers and went home again. With driving, I get to teach a different topic every day. Every lesson is different, every pupil is a different conversation.”